The Student Insurgent Issue 34.5 "The Earth Issue"

THE HISTORICAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS

NATURE AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES
By: Adrian A. Art By: Rosie

NATURE, as a concept, is near impossible to define. The word itself evokes multiple meanings that
are dependent on your cultural background, your place of origin, your religious beliefs - but now, more

han ever, “nature” is being defined as a finite place of resources or a commodity that you can choose to
participate in or not. When questioning and examining where the prevailing beliefs about nature and its
value come from in the Western World, it is absolutely critical to look at the historical context that predates
our current mess of rising temperatures and oil spills and examine the cultural attitudes and mindsets that
European settlers brought into the Americas— mindsets that are still prevalent today.

European settler-colonialists approached the New World with the expectation that it was a land
abundant with resources just begging to be harvested. This idea that the Americas were just a swathe of
wild untamed wilderness prevails today as a popular environmentalist myth that serves no purpose but to
undermine indigenous people and frame the rapid consumption of resources by settlers as a short-sighted
and even foolish act instead of one done with intention. Indigenous groups had terraformed the land,
impacted ecosystems, and made use of the natural resources around them for thousands of years before
contact with settlers, and they did so in line with their cultural and religious belief systems that viewed all
inhabitants of the land, human or animal, as rightful occupants of the space and the natural world as one
that is alive, omnipotent, and must be respected.

In contrast, settlers from the West brought their belief in a natural Hierarchy of Beings (scala
naturae) with God at the top, humans below, and every other thing in the world following after in a chain.
This philosophy, combined with cultural Christianity, allowed European settlers to frame the natural
world as something that must provide to mankind—it must be conquered to make it yield its gifts. The
American wilderness was foreign and teeming with uncertainty to the first homesteaders.The hardships they
faced shaped their view that the natural world was violent, unpredictable, and actively hostile—therefore,
successful domination would surely be rewarded greatly. This is where the concept of the Protestant Wor
Ethic begins to thrive; hard work and extreme hardships would be seen by God and rewarded in turn.

This was not confined to the early colonial period. After the revolution, as the new United States
of America began to form its economy, harnessing the natural world became even more of a struggle.
Massive cash crops like cotton were notoriously difficult to cultivate, so plantation owners would use any
means possible to circumvent nature and its cycles as long as it meant the most profit. Cattle were brought
into the Americas, out of their element, and settlers were determined to do anything possible to flatten
out the natural landscape and turn it into the perfect grounds for grazing. Rivers were diverted from their
natural course and canals were built —often disrupting the fishing practices of many indigenous peoples
in order to supply power to the many mills and factories that were beginning to appear, as well as provide
transportation for the new wealth of exports that the United States were producing. As the Industrial Era
began, work schedules transformed from sun-up to sun-down into by-the-hour. This is just a brief overview
of the changes that Settlers forced upon the environment, not even touching on the atrocities committed
against indigenous people and enslaved Africans in pursuit of profiting off of the New World; many of the
acts committed by settlers often had the secondary goal of permanently disrupting or destroying indigenous
lifestyles and hunting practices.

Our current reality in the United States is actively being shaped and influenced by the actions of
settler-colonialists and these attitudes prevail to this day. However, instead of appearing as the identifiable
and condemnable “manifest destiny,’ today they appear under trending tags and easily digestible Tik Toks.

up in homesteading, cottagecore, desiring a “crunchy” or all-natural
lifestyle etc. is simply just a modern dressed-up version of the exact same fantasy that incoming settlers
had—kicking the rightful inhabitants off of the land and turning it into a blank slate in order to live out an
idyllic European lifestyle free from the “society” that was too corrupt for them. Our late-stage capitalism and
its egregious consumption of the land was created by this fantasy. Unclaimed or “wild” land in the United
States is empty for a reason; indigenous people were forcefully removed from their ancestral lands in order
for white settlers to place their idyllic cottages and log cabins and plantations.

Slave labor was then utilized for all of the tedious and backbreaking labor involved in living off of the
land. Western expansion wasn’t just about land, either: Western values came with it as well. Many modern-
ay “homesteaders” and “crunchy” moms are white women who do not work, take care of the kids, and tend
to the garden. These individuals are often benefactors of a social position that allows them a wealth of time
and space not accessible to all, happily rejecting the supposed plagues of “modern society,’ in favor of co-
opting feminist language to promote a lifestyle where women are homemakers and mothers. This advocacy
for “going back to nature” is a disturbing callback to a time where women were subjugated and expected to
be submissive, docile, and produce children for the betterment of a man and his fantasies.

Now, my intent with pulling parallels between current day trends and colonialist history is not to say
that everyone who ever curated a #cottagecore Pinterest board had the exact same morals and intentions
as James K. Polk and James Monroe when they fought to annex more Western territory. However, it is
important to be mindful of the reality of living within the United States.Our society is entrenched in the
values of Christianity, the Protestant Work Ethic, and capitalism. As we live our day to day lives within
these structures, it is near impossible to avoid developing an unconscious bias that accepts these attitudes
and behaviors as innocuous and disconnected from this history—especially when you benefit from these
systems being in place. A large number of homestead lifestyle influencers online are white families that come
from wealth;this is not a coincidence.

Having a desire to live in the forest, leave pies on the windowsill of a small cottage, or have your
own garden/farm does not make you a bad person. However, it is important to examine the history of your
connection to the land and the benefits you receive from these systems to understand where these ideas and
conceptualizations may potentially come from. Then, consider whether or not they contribute to ongoing
| colonialism and white supremacist ideals and whether or not you could be inadvertently helping with that

contribution. You should also avoid purposefully denying the modern day manifestations and results of
history. When choosing to participate in these trends, it is necessary to be able to contend with criticism a
the historical reality, and to understand how historical attitudes can shift and evolve to fit in with “modern”
values.

The environmental and industrial history of the United States lays bare the exact blueprints that led
us to where we
are today—there

is no getting out

of this unless

we destroy the

attitudes that

brought us here
\ and contend

with the modern

manifestations
of violent settler-
colonialism and
white supremacy.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IS
SELF AND COMMUNITY DEFENSE

The Earth wants us. She gives her love freely, her abundance, creating and sustaining our ways of life.
She is the maker of our stories and the place in which our stories live on. In her loving embrace I find my
home. It is in this home that I find community, purpose, and joy. Earth is family. And I shall protect her as
such.

I have come to believe that all relationships compel the behavior necessary for their maintenance. The
obligation to sustainably care for Earth is merely the recognition of our nature as members of an ecological
system larger than ourselves. It is the importance of this relationship with the life sustaining force that orients
our perspective towards environmental preservation, not some moral obligation or some system of values.

Action without recognition of the conditions we find ourselves within is simply denial. Yet we mental-
ly and physically abstract ourselves away from our place in the ecology and imagine ourselves captains of our
own reality. We imagine ourselves as masters of the present rather than members of a performance of global
proportions. Rather than serving to sustain our relationship with the Earth, our behaviors serve to build a
world we imagine ourselves master of. This discord denies the opportunity available for harmony between the
human and natural worlds, the recognition that these worlds are one and the same. The screams of the earth
fall upon deaf ears while we consume her. To sustain ourselves, we eat the flesh of our children, our overcon-
sumption depleting the gifts of the earth and destroying the life force of future generations. We raze the sourc-
es of their physical and spiritual health while imagining we are sustaining them. Without mindfulness, our
actions poison those whom we hope to save.

On a cold mountain top a lone flower blooms. To recognize the mountain in the flower and the flower
in the mountain is to recognize interbeing. The flower exists only in relation to the mountain and to the rest
of the present moment. The conditions which created the flower also created the mountain. To sit with this is
to accept the mountain and the flower are one and the same, and so too are you the mountain and the flower.
You are the present, in its entirety. The perceiver, and the perceived. To create division between the self and the
other is to miss the conditions from which these emerge, the Earth as the prior condition. Killing the flower is
to kill the mountain and yourself. So too is killing the forest is not only an affront to the life force of the forest.
To kill the forest is to stab a knife through your own chest and the chest of your child, of all present and future
generations. Environmental sustainability is self and community defense. Earth is self_Earth is family. And I
shall protect her as such.

EN VIRONMENTAL. OP. TINT. df

e a. 4
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US Supreme Court won't rule on local

By: Rosie,4

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Once powered primarily by coal, Alberta now gets
more electricity from renewables

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California 7

Lake Tahoe’s best clarity in 40 years is the
work of this ‘natural cleanup crew’

: Scientists attribute the ‘unprecedented’ visibility of the water

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Fortified with Coconuts, ‘Living’ Shorelines Are Oy
Stopping Coastal Erosion ,

In big climate move, EPA set to unveil tough

From New Jersey to Texas, a nature-nurturing alternative to concrete sea panes <a
limits on auto emissions

walls is protecting America’s coastline. rs .

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CLIMATE SOLUTIONS
The world’s best rainforest guardians
already live there

7, oS
Researchers find 26 Australian species
recovered from the brink of extinction

Seaweed farming inspires high hopes in
Alaska for economic and environmental

benefits
ee

Food forests can bring climate
resilience, better health, and
tasty produce to city residents

abundance of lo cass ced foods in the community is important

y levels.

q Protect the West Act proposes $60B for

forest, watershed resilienc

This plane powered by
hydrogen has made an

electrifying Ae iy — an Proposes Major Air

Pollution Reforms to Lower y/ |
Scientists have a vision for Wi Residents’ Cancer Risk Near /

Environment

sustainable, biodegradable } by Industrial Facilities

Although still in its laboratory testing phase, new biorecyclable glass shows > al&
potential fora nigreener economy.
:

France: Protests against President Macron pushing the
pension age from 62 to 64 reached a fever pitch during May
Day, with hundreds of thousands, including union members,
anarchists, and other radicals, marching all across France.
Protests are expected to continue, with the next big push
planned by some groups to be on June 6th.

-

a

Brazil: Right-wing parties in the Brazilian
government created a commission of inquiry to
investigate (and, presumably, suppress) the Landless
Rural Worker's Movement, a massive leftist social
movement focused on land reform that often occupies

unused land to farm. Israel: Israeli officials demolish a

Palestinian school and take everything
within, citing safety regulations as the
official reason. While a nearby school will
be able to take the displaced students, it’s
still yet another blow to the Palestinian
people who live there.

GLOBAL NEws You SHOULD
KNOW ABOUT

By: summerisles

Pakistan: The military and
protestors clash over the arrest of
former Prime Minister Imran Khan
following him being charged with
several cases of corruption. As of
writing he has been released from
arrest, but the situation is ongoing.

India: Back in January, coal was banned
from use in and around New Delhi.
Whether this has an appreciable impact on :

air pollution in the area, especially during ad A
the winter when the most is usually burnt,

remains to be seen.

Art By: Rosie

WHAT ACTUALLY IS THE MODEL

MINORITY?

The Asian model minority is a phrase that
most are familiar with, however few have a grasp on
the severity of the concept. When we initially consider
the “Asian model minority” we think of the pale
Korean businessman or Chinese doctor. These could
initially appear to be an unassuming, almost flattering
assumption, a kudos to Asian success. However this
narrative is not just vaguely annoying; its shadow
looms far past people assuming that Asians are good
at math.

Firstly, and this cannot be stressed enough:
not all Asians are pale. We tend to socially categorize
the eastern countries, such as China or South Korea
as pale, then south and southeastern countries such
as India, the Philippines, or Myanmar as brown,
however in every one of the aforementioned countries
there are people with many
shades of complexion.

This may seem like

an obvious statement,
however it is a statement
that must continuously

be acknowledged for the
erasure of brown Asians
from the narrative has
persisted for generations
with only a recent
widespread recognition of
the entrench colorism. This
not completely instituted by white americans; it is also
embedded in the colorism that flows through Asian
communities, notably surfacing in the 1960s-70s
Yellow Power movement that ignored brown Asian
Americans. However white supremacy and the model
minority give this sentiment an incredibly fertile
environment to grow.

The importance of recognizing the diversity
of Asia extends past just remembering that countries
other than Japan, South Korea, and China exist.

Not only should we cease to consider “Asian” a
monolithic, often Eastern Asian identity, as there
are over 50 countries in Asia, each with different
languages, cultures, cuisines, etc., but also that the
countries themselves should not be mistaken to be

By: Nephrite

homogenous. Although there is a universal national
identity, there is also diversity in both ethnocultural
and political identities, and approaching Asian
countries with a lens of cultural essentialism is
regressive and reductionist. There are frequent
inferences of this in news and media, such as the
homogenous mass of Chinese citizens who are
simultaneously brainwashed by their government but
also a barbaric hivemind; or essentially all Southeast
Asian countries portrayed as beachy, underdeveloped
lands rife with violence (ex. Myanmar), poverty (ex.
Vietnam), or conservative religion (ex. Malaysia),
which results in the assumption of a simple minded
and therefore helplessly oppressed people. These
implications thoroughly ignore the social nuances of
the actual people in those countries.

Secondly, the
assumption that Asian
Americans’ prevalence in
high paying white collar
jobs effectively eliminating
the existence of anti-Asian
discrimination is misplaced.
In those high paying jobs
themselves, according to
national EEOC (U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity
Commission) workforce
data, Asian Americans are
the least likely group to be promoted to management
positions across all industries, from tech and business
to law and government. On top of that, while Asians
are overrepresented in high paying jobs, they are also
overrepresented in low paying jobs, and out of every
racial group, Asians have the most rapidly growing
income inequality.

Therefore here is my personal definition
of the model minority: the act of squashing the
vast diaspora of Asian Americans into a very rigid
orientalist archetype, specifically a conglomeration
of cultures shoved into the body of an East Asian
stereotype whose merit is measured in proximity to
whiteness.

However this is nearly impossible to achieve,

rf

for as a default, the Asian American is always associated in relevance to their ethnic country of origin,
regardless of the level of connection that they have to it. Even here in Eugene, a relatively liberal area, people
will react in impressed astonishment to an Asian person having perfect English, or be considerably surprised if
English is their first or only language. And although most will not react with dramatic disgust at the presence
of chicken feet or dried squid in the Asian-Mart, it is still regarded as a spectacle of the foreign, and a reminder
that Asian people are exotic. The problem that arises out of this is that white people can tour and select what
they like from various Asian cultures and adopt it into their lives; Buddhism, speaking Mandarin, wearing
traditional attire, lumpia, anime, incense (though this is also traditionally relevant in various Native American
and African cultures), etc., are all socially acceptable, even encouraged, for white people to partake in, often
adding to their status of sophistication and “worldly knowledge.” However, if an Asian person does or indulges
in those same things, they become *too* Asian, and eventually can become an unrelatable walking exhibition
of the entirety of Asia, swallowed into the monolithic concept of “Asianness.”

This is a vulnerable position to be in because one is either, what researchers call, the “perpetual
foreigner,’ or publicly emancipated from cultural identity. The line to walk is very thin. Thus there is an
unspoken expectation, especially in school or the workplace, for a rejection of cultural connection and a
resulting overcompensation through social adaptation and almost a neo-assimilation: the intentional choice
to blend in through hyper-professionalism and flexibility; academic excellence; suppression of true emotion;
logistical competency; and submission to western norms and practices. The model minority is not the behavior
of a model Asian person, it is the behavior of the most perfect white person through the capitalist lens, and
thus can sometimes result in a collection of capital, and traditional success.

Consequently, the model minority myth reinforces the false idea that success in America is achievable
with just hard work, while ignoring systemic barriers and discrimination that affects racial minorities. This
ability for some Asian Americans to abandon identity and spirit to emulate whiteness and reach high levels of
success is weaponized by white supremacy to subdivide and categorize minorities, with the proof that racism
does not debilitatingly exist. The model minority myth builds walls between Asian Americans and other racial
minorities; it sinisterly taunts each groups individual attempts to gain recognition and end discrimination
by invalidating this discrimination’s very existence. Employing abominable generalizations, white supremacy
places pale Asian Americans and Black and Brown Americans as antithesis of one another, while brown Asian
Americans face the worst of both worlds. More recently there has been a growth in solidarity, which is very
beautiful to see after the long history of disjunction. It is important to recognize that the model minority myth
is a tool used by white supremacy to maintain power and control over all racial minorities, which actively
prevents a united revolution, so dismantling it is necessary for true equity and justice to be achieved.

The model minority myth also builds walls within oneself, alienating the Asian American from their
own self and identity. The model minority myth has historically (and presently) enabled Asian American
survival and even flourishing in the form of select monetary success, however this is with the pervasive
condition of the rejection of community and culture, a fervent dedication to loss of identity, and being the
sidekick to the symbolic cishet white man.

Within many Asian American families there is the universal life advice to kowtow to the needs and
standards of the empowered, silently suffer, and always preserve dignity and save face no matter what, or a very
similar message. And it fucking sucks. The dedication that the Asian American community has developed due
to the model minority myth to achieve the same status as the white man has devastating consequences for the
people within it.

We are expected to pretend to be a blank white slate for white supremacy to write on and hold up as
a twisted lie that discrimination can be overcome with hard work and dedication. We sacrifice everything
meaningful for personal survival, just to be used as a tool to uphold racism. So when we have externally
expressed passionate interests and dreams, can't hide our emotions, or simply take up more space than the
bare minimum, we are no longer useful to use as a cog in the white supremacist machine and are rejected
into obscurity. The model minority stereotype is elusively persistent and deeply damaging, and it aids white
supremacy to prevail, thus it is crucial to dismantle and eliminate its permeation in America.

8

DISABILITY AND QUEER ERASURE AND THE
ASIAN-AMERICAN MINORITY By: Nephrite

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Society has created, through the diminution of “Asianness’, an Asian American aesthetic that waters
down all descendents from Asian countries into a monolithic mass who is constantly striving to achieve
the white capitalist perfection that nobody, not even white people can ever achieve. Now the reason that
I call this an “aesthetic” rather than a “stereotype” is because a stereotype is a grimly negative, untrue
generalization that people actively fight against, however an aesthetic is a surface level pleasantry. While
the model minority myth is the weaponized stereotype of perception by white supremacists to uphold their
supremacy, the Asian American aesthetic is the goal actually strived for in the Asian American community
through a neo-assimilation which allows easy digestibility to the critical social eye.

Of course this aesthetic is not actually a desirable goal, it is a concept cruelly created by the capitalist
machine that incurs a complete loss of identity and community in order to function. However, in a country
where the perpetual foreigner trope is explicitly persistent, although we reside upon Native American soil so
it makes no sense for white to be the default, in order to survive and thrive, the Asian American will be far
more inclined than most to deeply internalize capitalist perfection as the only path to success, and sacrifice
their identity and soul to get there.

Therefore, because the Asian American aesthetic revolves around social and mental perfection, any
deviation from it is harshly received. The Asian American existence is reduced to two tracks: appearing as
the model minority with the constant looming shadow of the perpetual foreigner, or an enduring invisibility
and nonexistence in the public sphere. This creates very difficult circumstances for Asian Americans who are
incapable of curating the facade to effectively achieve the aesthetic, which disproportionately includes those
who are physically disabled, neurodivergent, and/or queer. I will argue that this is not only due to not fitting
the model minority stereotype, but due to the internal overlapping of collectivist mentality with the Asian
American aesthetic.

Collectivist mentality tends to be more prevalent among Asian American families who have a closer
proximity to immigration, for collectivism is a prominent mentality in the east. Although collectivism should
not be mistaken to be an ideal that all Asians subscribe to, many Asian American families with immigrant
matriarchs and patriarchs will experience this phenomenon. Collectivism directly clashes with American
individualism, for the importance is not placed on individual achievement but the collective triumph, and in
America it often manifests enclosed to the family unit. Subsequently, success is a familial affair dedicated to
the pleasing of the older generations, thus if a family member fails, it is the entire family’s humiliation.

Upholding family honor is difficult enough as the Asian American aesthetic creates insurmountable
pressure for conformity, however for those with disabilities it is exponentially more difficult. Both physical
and cognitive disabilities contribute to the terrifying prospect of standing out, not being able to achieve
traditional capitalist success, hence becoming a burden on the family. However, this is not a simply a
monetary loss, it is a failure to fit the Asian American aesthetic which draws attention as a stain on the family,
a perpetual humiliation, a vicious loss of face, and a public dishonor, which is one of the worst harms that
can fall upon many Asian American families.

Incidentally, it is important to note that this emphasis on dramatically avoiding public dishonor is
habitually orientalized by the Western lens, which I find to be rather disgusting because it comes off as a
weird fetishization by Western media exploiting the entire east as an extravagant performance. Additionally,
it fails to capture the ideological nuances of collectivism, nor realize that not all Asian and Middle Eastern
people will experience it. And for those that do, in America it is more than just a mere continuation of their
ethnic country, it is a method of survival. The Asian American presence in the United States has always been
splattered with unjustly and quietly spilt blood, as people are often attacked simply for being different. For

9

example, a recent resurgence in anti-Asian hate due to COVID has led to a 149% increase in reported anti-
Asian hate crimes in 2020 (Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism). Additionally, this recent statistic
disproportionately victimizes the elderly which, with the collectivist value that deeply cherishes our elders, is
a massive devastation to Asian American communities, and is very painful to see. As a result, in America very
strong bonds within Asian American families and communities will flourish. Among family might be the only
time you can truly be yourself, practice connections to your culture (if you still have them) and speak your
language (if it is not firstly english), meanwhile under the social gaze the Asian American aesthetic will be
increasingly tightly maintained.

Moreover, when collective success is specifically measured within the constraints of a capitalist
society, those who are disabled are doomed to hardship because capitalism actively hinders disabled people
from thriving. This is achieved not only with physical barriers and accessibility issues, but with the social
stigma of not being a fully individual and self-sufficient being which therefore impedes productivity. The
Asian American aesthetic is only successfully upheld when a person is perceived positively as a smoothly
functioning cog in the machine of capitalism, so a visible disability will render their contributions invisible
as their presence is diluted to a foreign visual anomaly. The intersectionality of being disabled and Asian
layers on to specifically highlight the exoticism of the foreign, and they are consequently ostracized from ever
achieving the Asian American aesthetic.

Failure to traditionally succeed in school or in the workplace can have a range of mental health effects,
from the individual mental strain of failing the family, to the family disappointment that will incessantly and
aggressively be expressed every day, to even disownment. Furthermore, according to the APA (American
Psychiatric Association), Asian Americans are the least likely race/ethnicity in the United States to seek
mental health help, and the least likely to receive mental health care, so the mental pressure that plagues
Asian American communities is never treated and generationally persists. Additionally, this results in a
failure to diagnose many who are neurodivergent, so not only are their potential failures brutally criticized
according to neurotypical standards, but they may not ever receive access to the support that is available in
order to succeed. Mental health in the Asian American community does not have a support system, is deeply
stigmatized, and is a symptom of family weakness and inadequacy. Many will suffer entire lifetimes in silence
to preserve the untainted family name and ensure the best for the future generations.

However, one woman who is monumentally challenging the perception of disability intersecting
with Asian American identity is Alice Wong, a Asian American disability activist and writer. She founded the
Disability Visibility Project and wrote her powerful memoir: Year of the Tiger. Year of the Tiger wonderfully
encapsulates Wong’s experiences growing up with the conflicting intersectionalities of her identities, and how
she forged her way through the world to build a tangible community and to be seen for what she is and not
what others visually perceive her as.

The collectivist mentality converging with the Asian American aesthetic can also have a uniquely
positive effect on disabled Asian Americans, for in an environment where hatred and judgment can be
found everywhere, family is the most important and many parents will pour everything into the success of
their children. For example, quite a few Asian American parents will expend a lot of time and energy every
night after work to personally teach their children math, science, and english concepts, commonly giving
them external workbooks to enforce their learning, to ensure academic success. Although for some this
can be an unpleasant or traumatic experience, for others it is the extra support that they need to succeed in
school to their fullest ability. What people require to successfully meet their needs for accessibility in school
varies widely, and can often not be effectively met, so for the Asian American community that often will go
undiagnosed for cognitive disabilities, the external support can be very helpful.

Or another example is a personal anecdote: when I was diagnosed with Celiac, my mother promptly
began to fill the cupboards and fridge with only celiac-safe breads, sauces, and ingredients, and she altered
all of her dishes to be celiac friendly, becoming entirely gluten-free herself For many Asian American families
with the collectivist mentality, struggling is a family experience, as it is the family versus the entire world, so
in some beautiful cases, visible and invisible disabilities will be smoothly adapted into the family rhythm and

10

cont. from page 10
lifestyle in a very cohesive and natural way.

Another frequently overlooked intersectional group within the Asian American diaspora is queer
Asian Americans. Throughout history, media and pop culture has generally induced an effeminization and
desexualization of Asian men, and a hyper feminization and over sexualization of Asian women. However,

I would argue that the more recent booming success of K-pop and anime has led to an increase of the
fetishization of all genders of Asians. As much as I love these mediums, with their predominantly western,
and peculiarly fervent, consumption, I believe that it is a chronic symptom of an international version of
the Asian American aesthetic. These mediums utilize the intentional placement of Asian bodies and Asian
likeness onto the market for western consumption because western obsession leads to capital success. This is
another example of Asians being economized upon for western/white benefit. Additionally, they are curated
for the heterosexual gaze: K-pop for white women, and anime for white men.

Many queer people are drawn to K-pop and anime, however the media aesthetic itself overwhelmingly
perpetuates heterosexuality. This erases queer Asians from holding a space, for the overwhelming media that
represents Asianness carries the heterosexual audience in mind, thus Asians are subconsciously deemed to be
a heterosexual race. To fit with the digestible Asian American aesthetic, queerness is far less flexibly accepted
into Asian American families and communities than disability has the potential to be, so queer Asian
Americans are often estranged from their Asian identity. Queerness is regarded as a western phenomenon,
and queer Asian Americans are accordingly seen as too western for the Asian American communities, but too
foreign for the whites.

To learn more about queer Asian Americans, in the week that crosses from May to June - AAPI
Heritage Month to Pride Month - QTAPI will be holding a series of events dedicated to elevating queer
AAPI voices, so please stop by.

LINES

By: S.V. Downy hair of the earth overtrodden in
crushed dense wandering tracks—flesh of earth
shaped by the imperfect impressions
of travelers on whose feet travel worlds

Cutting shifting tracks with days passing
and passing lives, lives that slip away
like mud washing from a disaggregating trail
like displacing sediment along wending riverbeds

Sense of place not my own
placelessness abides in the places I pass through
unbelonging thrives where I fail to inhabit
anticipating arrival in unknown latitudes of longing

I walk these lines
set down
by others’ feet
in other lives.

11

MUSHROOM
Fairy

CONTRADICTORY COMMITMENTS
REDUX: WHAT DOES INTERCULTURAL
ALLYSHIP LOOK LIKE? By: S.V.

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Last October, I wrote an article for The Student Insurgent based on my experience conducted research
with an Indigenous community in rural Colombia last summer. That article uses the example of my personal
experience as a queer anthropologist who had to hide my bisexual orientation from my research collaborators
so as not to jeopardize my relationship with the community—which observes Catholic norms of gender
and sexuality—as a departure point for a discussion of the nuances and tensions of solidarity and allyship
in cases where culture and ethical values differ. The conclusion I come to in that piece is that often, when we
are able, we should put aside personal disagreements to meet people where they’re at and provide support in
the ways we can for the sake of solidarity, even with people who we might not otherwise agree with. I stand
by this argument, but in this article, I would like to expand the terms of the discussion. Here, I return to
that discussion asking some of the same questions, though now with reference to my current experience as
a research intern in Senegal, a West African country in which similar intercultural tensions between ethical
values and allyship are, one more, on clear display.

As I write this, I am interning with a Senegalese NGO that works on issues of youth development,
public health, and sexual education in the schools of rural Senegal. This NGO does important work in the fight
against HIV/AIDS, child marriage, female genital mutilation, teenage pregnancy, gendered violence, and other
problems common in Senegal, as elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa. Presumably, we would all agree that these
are problematic issues that ought to be opposed. Unfortunately, that’s what my Senegalese colleagues would
say about LGBTQ+ rights too. They say that being gay or transgender isn’t a part of Senegalese culture, that
it’s something brought by TikTok and Western cultural imperialists. Feminism, too, is a Western imposition,
because Islam teaches that men are the head of the house. Clearly, I don’t agree—and this is where the
questions arise. How far can culture be taken as a defense of questionable ethics? What happens when political
solidarity and personal ethics seem to be at odds? Crucially, what is the role of the bystander or potential ally in
these situations of contradictory commitments?

As an anthropologist, the principle of cultural relativism—the notion that different cultures should
not be judged or condemned according to the values of one’s own culture, but rather understood on their
own terms—is a pillar of the professional ethics of my discipline. My training tells me that it is not my
place to judge, only to attempt to understand. In general, I agree with this outlook. Cultural relativism is an
important tool meant to help avoid the pitfalls of ethnocentrism, Othering, and essentialism which both
anthropology and popular culture are vulnerable to. The cultural relativist perspective is especially important
when engaging with peoples and cultures who have historically faced oppression and marginalization at the
hands of politically dominant groups. This is, of course, the case of my Indigenous and African collaborators in
Colombia and Senegal, respectively, who have suffered colonialism, racism, and other forms of exclusion.

My politics, on the other hand, tell me that sometimes it is necessary to judge, to take ethical stands
against beliefs or practices that I believe are wrong. Now, usually I am willing and able to distinguish between
these categories—professional ethics on the one hand, personal ethics on the other. Sometimes, however,
the personal is political. 'm lucky enough to be straight passing; I don’t have to worry about my safety as a
queer person in Colombia or Senegal, as long as I don’t tell people I’m queer. I’m comfortable enough keeping

13

it that way, and that’s a privilege. Clearly, some people don't have that privilege, and for them it may be best
not to expose themselves to danger in the same context. But let’s assume that you, like me, are capable of
putting your personal identity aside to engage with people and cultures who think differently. Just how far can
those engagements be taken? Remember that in Senegal, it’s illegal to be gay. Men can have multiple wives,

but it’s illegal for women to take multiple husbands. Female genital mutilation remains widespread among
certain ethnic groups in the country, despite decades of opposition by both Western NGOs and Senegalese
organizations. I assume the reader will agree that these are bad things. But at what point do we allow them to
prevent us from standing with the people who justify them when it comes to questions of oppression or shared
interests?

An anecdote will serve to illustrate my point. Recently I attended a meeting at the headquarters of the
NGO I work with in Senegal. A group of visiting students came to learn about my organization's sexual health
pedagogy. An open and frank discussion was had and the students were attentive and mature. I was glad to
be able to sit in and observe what is clearly an important area of work within a country that generally remains
highly socially conservative as far as sexuality is concerned. However, it soon became clear that there is a
fundamental difference in how my Senegalese colleagues and I approach questions of sexual health. For me,
it’s a matter of responsible and enjoyable sexual exploration. For them, it’s strictly a matter of abstinence. My
colleagues may do a lot of good work in terms of frank education and awareness around traditionally taboo
subjects in Senegal—but ultimately this country remains 95% Muslim and the bottom line is that sex must wait
until marriage.

At some point during the meeting, the subject turned to the nefarious influence of the internet and
apps like TikTok as vectors of sexuality among Senegalese youth. Personally, this is not an issue that I think is
particularly important. The meeting coordinator, however, posited that TikTok and other apps are threatening
to sexually pervert Senegalese youth by introducing them to such dangerous foreign concepts as the existence
of gay and transgender people. Not only are teens being encouraged to express and explore their sexuality by
online content, but dangerous foreign ideas like queerness threaten to undermine Senegalese family values.
Think of the children! This discourse was met with unanimous nods around the room, both from the visiting
students and the other NGO activists. I stayed silent. I don't think Senegal is ready for that conversation—and
who am I to try to initiate it?

The truth is that, for cultural and religious reasons, practices like female genital mutilation and the
criminalization of LGBTQ+ people's lives will probably remain commonplace in Senegal for a long time, as
other practices we may take issue with will remain prevalent in other parts of the world—and probably in our
own society too (are gun violence, racism, or transphobia in the US going anywhere anytime soon?). These
beliefs are practices are not so easily undone by well-meaning outsiders—nor is it their place to try. Cultural
change must come from within.

This is not a call for complacency or apathy in the face of oppressive behaviors on the part of those
whom, when it comes to their own oppression, we ought to stand with as allies. It is a call for a level of nuance
that I think is unfortunately often lacking on the left, where people who style themselves as activists can be
quick to jump to black-and-white judgements that leave little room for the gray areas of life and politics.
Compartmentalization is something we should all strive to be better at. Recognizing that different people, let
alone different cultures, will always have different and sometimes contradictory values is a basic life skill. I
know it’s easy to stay mad at everything and everyone for not sharing your ethical system, which is obviously
the best and most logical one out there. Unfortunately, everyone else has the same thought too. When it
becomes clear that the whole world will never be in agreement about a great many things, we can at least
decide when it is right to stand up as allies—and when sometimes it’s necessary to take a step back.

14

SENEGAL IN DEMOCRATIC BACKSLIDE:
A LOCAL EXPRESSION OF A GLOBAL
PATTERN By: S.V.

Dakar, Senegal

In West Africa, a region known for political instability, military coups, and autocratic
regimes, Senegal is unique for having maintained an unbroken and relatively peaceful democratic
tradition since its independence from France in 1960. Jutting out of the West African coast in the
semi-arid Sahel region between the Sahara to the north and the equatorial tropics to the south,
Senegal is a rare success story of orderly political succession in this beleaguered region of the
world.

Right now, however, Senegal finds its democratic tradition under siege. The culprit? The
current president, Macky Sall, who has reigned since 2012 and who, the Senegalese people fear,
may be setting himself up for an unconstitutional third term. His main challenger, political
outsider Ousmane Sonko, who leads opinion polls as the most popular politician in the country,
is currently facing politically motivated legal charges that threaten to invalidate his candidature in
the upcoming 2024 elections. Because Sonko leads the polls, Macky Sall and his government have
been doing everything possible to keep Sonko from running in 2024. Why? In a word, corruption.
Sonkos anti-corruption platform threatens the existing political order in Senegal, which is
dominated by charismatic, old-school politicians and the illicit movement of embezzled state cash
among themselves for personal enrichment. Macky Sall and his government know that if Sonko
is elected, as he certainly would be if allowed to run, they might have to answer for their crimes.
Surely thanks to the clandestine efforts of the Senegalese state to prevent that scenario at all costs,
Sonko has faced assassination attempts and other extreme measures in addition to the trumped-up
charges of defamation and rape which he is currently facing in court.

What is happening in Senegal is representative of a global problem—democratic backsliding
that arises in reaction to popular movements which threaten the stranglehold of traditional elites
on state power and finances. Senegal under Macky Sall is today in the same boat as Brazil under
Bolsonaro, the US under Trump, Turkey under Erdogan, Russia under Putin, China under Xi,
Hungary under Orban, etc. The type of autocratization represented by these figures has been
on the rise for the past several years, and some of the politicians listed above have succeeded in
making themselves effective dictators of their respective states. What is responsible for this shift?
Basic self-interest and greed, of course, are major factors. If you want to take power and hold on
to it, it behooves you to surround yourself with kowtowing lackeys to whom you can keep the
money flowing. It doesn’t matter if they're good at their jobs. It doesn't matter if the money they’re
supposed to be spending on matters of state goes into their pockets instead. It only matters that
they're loyal. And if they’re well enough paid, their loyalty is guaranteed.

15

Of course, this kind of politicking has grave consequences. Not only does it allow
strongman maniacs like Putin to launch invasions without his underlings ever daring to voice
opposition (and if they do, it’s life in prison—or having your underwear poisoned by the FSB, as
the case may be). It also perpetuates in some obvious ways the very problems that get people like
Ousmane Sonko to finally speak up against corrupt leaders like Macky Sall. Let’s dig a little deeper
into the case of Senegal.

Senegal, despite being a regional model of relative democratic stability, remains a poor
country with few good opportunities for education or employment for the majority of its young
population. It is, therefore, one of the major departure points in West Africa for the thousands
of clandestine migrants who make the desperate and dangerous journey to Europe by fishing
boat every year. It is not uncommon for several hundred young Senegalese men, women, and
children to be packed like sardines into the wooden pirogues that, if they’re lucky, will see them
to the coasts of countries like Spain, Portugal, or Morocco a week or two after departing from
Dakar. If they’re unlucky, as many are, the boats will capsize at sea. Most don't know how to swim,
and don't stand much of a chance of survival even if they do. Of course, getting to the shores of
Europe is no guarantee of wealth and freedom; most clandestine migrants are soon caught and
deported, even if theyre lucky enough to survive the journey there. This became so grave that in
2021, the governments of Spain and Senegal jointly agreed to work bilaterally towards improving
migration control. Tellingly, the emphasis was on military and police cooperation more than on
addressing the root economic causes of the migration in the first place. This is where the problem
of corruption comes in.

Ousmane Sonko is currently facing defamation charges raised by the Minister of Tourism,
Mame Mbaye Niang. Sonko accused Niang of embezzling 29 billion CFA francs (that’s over
$48 million USD) from a public fund dedicated to developing agriculture in Senegal, one of the
country’s most significant economic domains. Since many of the desperate young people boading
the deadly boats to Europe come from agricultural parts of the country, using those funds as
intended, to improve economic opportunities in agricultural areas, would likely go a long way
towards addressing the root causes of the migration crisis. The fact that those vital funds were
stolen by a corrupt minister who is now engaged in a coverup, as his allies in the government
move to condemn the only man calling out such a flagrant abuse of power (Sonko), attests to the
interconnected nature of these issues.

This, too, is a local expression of a global pattern. Think of the legacy of corruption left by
Trump and his allies, or Jair Bolsonaro’s economic ties to the cattlemen destroying the Amazon,
or Putin’s network of oligarch allies. Everywhere in the world that these people get into power, the
corruption that surrounds them does immense harm to people and environment alike in their
own countries and beyond. It is up to the people who they hurt to stand up and tell them, in the
words of one Sonko supporter here in Senegal, that if they don’t step down, cest la guerre—it’s war.

16

My name is Jessica Ludwig and Iam a
volunteer with Cascadia Wildlands, a biology
student at the University of Oregon, an avid hiker
and outdoorsman, and a forest defense organizer
with Climate Justice League. I am also an employee
of Nature’s Harvest, a small-scale family forestry
business in the Midwest. While I’m not from Oregon,
I come from a logging town in northern Wisconsin.
My family shows photos of old White Pine that
used to grow abundantly throughout the forests
surrounding my community. Unfortunately they
were mostly logged a few generations before I was
born. I see those pictures and I feel at a loss knowing
I will never grow up underneath those ancient
trees. When I moved out to Oregon I was under
the impression that this state was different; that the
old growth Douglas Firs were loved by all and were
protected. It seems everywhere I look I can't escape
the reality that the old growth and mature forests are
disappearing.

The 42 Divide Stand Management Plan
located within the South River Field Office, Roseburg
Bureau of Land Management District was one of
the first forests I visited when I moved here two
years ago. I had the opportunity to visit many of the
units and developed a connection to the land that’s
unique to any I’ve had before. It’s where I found
my first chanterelle mushrooms, where I camped
out with my newly formed college friends, where
I found my passion for field work and love of the

Pacific Northwest. Less and less of the forests here are

untouched by man. I can't help but to think of future
generations and if the tree I put my arms around will
still be standing and growing when I am old. These
forests are resilient to many environmental threats
like wildfires and they have survived lifetimes before
us- let us not be the ones to end their hundreds year
old reign. The future depends on the actions we do

right now, and the Bureau of Land Management must

see that the carbon sequestration of Oregon’s forests
is essential to the survival of humanity...”

Visit www.cascwild.org for more information about
timber sales like 42 divide, & find oppportunites to
help protect our old growth and mature forests.

In early May, two northern spotted owls that had
been released into a British Columbia forest last year
were found dead, potentially reducing the known
wild population in the province to a single female. In
other words, noethern spotted owls are functionally

extinct in the wild in BC.

Art By: Roste

17

GENERATION AFTER GENERATION,
UNTIL TOTAL LIBERATION

we © By @bint.bandora in In rememberance of the 75th anniversary
\ 7] partnership with @psu_super 1 8 of the Palestinian Nakba, May 15th 1948

THE OFECT COLUMN PRINTS
WorRK Se cARGURATED PEOPLE, WHO SHARE
ART, STORIES, PoEMS, OPINIONS:
ESSAYS, COMMENTARIES |
RESPONSES:::

THAT

AANY WHOWRITE Eppes
-PAL.

THeyD LIKE To FIND A PE
FIGHTING THE POWER ->

By: Michael Manjeet Singh

S
N

*black tar-- Heroin
*clapper-- Cell-phone

“U/A-- Urine-Analysis (test for drugs) Mail Us: Student Insurgent / 1228
University of Oregon / Eugene, OR
EoSn ween Dy: 97403 / insurgentuo@gmail.com

Michael Manjeet Singh, T22165
Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility
PO Box 799006
San Diego, CA 92179-9006

THE STUDENT INSURGENT,

Life in an oppressive society, that just don’t make any god-damn sense ! Where prison guards extort inmates by
selling $50.00 cell-phones for hundreds, sometimes a thousand, then orchestrate massive shake down searches

“to obtain” contraband, repossessing the phones, then reselling them to other inmates, “so I’ve heard”. Feel free

to WRITE MET’LL REPLY!

iy,

FIGHTING THE POWER

Books called it THE GREAT MIGRATION, but people aren’t birds
Yet we fly in flocks & also remain lonesome doves

So do crows & many of them equal a murder

Birds of a feather, flock together

And the worst of vultures kill us all little by little with each passing day

With oppression & by smoke bombs, metal batons and O.C. Pepper spray
The penitentiary is a place with fair weather friends Heroin

This ain’t no game, ‘cause our wings are tied or clipped ’

That’s why so many take that black tar with soyriowe and have dipped
Because for some it’s better and easier to inject their veins with dope
Instead of to fight the power and system with their brains fueled with hope.

To talk to “yo “Dear Mama’ cost way more than a dime

The guards charge you a thousand for a clapper, then try to take mine
‘The Man’ bringing you the coke to ‘blow’ cell-phone. x
Wears a green jump suit ¢ calls himself a C.O. venice ain ouatieat OR dlnugs)
Ironically, the very next day, you get ‘called’ for a U/ A”
In my world of prison, this is just your average and typical day
My humanity is NOT up for negotiation

That’s what has messed up this entire state of the U.S. Nation!
Young lions SINGH (SIKHS), grow up in and are a Mother’s pride
It’s when you get older, that you see how the system has truly lied.

be Poem written by} Michael Manjeet Singh, T-22165

THE VSP/BY-32-2 Low
[Stmarr |ey meh, Ca 7310
Boge LN SURGENT,
Me |_1FE Ww AN oppressive
| SOUETY, ile dont Make,
im ANY od-dann Sense ! Where |
Gace Guards extort inmates by
Bellin ce | phones foe bundled |
‘att Pep A thousand hen orcheslRale |
Massive Slake clown geneces “fo obtain
g CONTRAbANd, RepasscSsing the phones,
Hhen reselling them fo Other inmates,

Bie Fexsd™ Fea Fc Ta WARTENE

Fess

TAL REPLY

tr

A DUDESKI OF THE PEOPLE

Amidst a dimly lit chamber, the Arditi del Popolo
sat with a determination etched upon their faces by
the tools of war, their eyes bright like gunfire with
the fervor of revolution. One amongst them, a tall
man with shoulders like a battle cruiser brought his
fist down upon the table with a thunderous crash,
the cups scattered around the table shaking with
resounding force.

"We can't just wait around, pants down," he declared.
"We must strike while our iron is hot, and take the
fight to those who seek to crush the people beneath
their boots!"

His comrades nodded in
agreement, their gazes
aflame with the same
intense determination.
They knew full well that
they faced a formidable
foe, one that would walk
the ends of the earth

to crush their dream of
liberation. But they had
a bond of brotherhood
forged in the fire of
courage, a courage that
you could see burning in
their eyes.

They debated and deliberated for hours, weighing the
various options with utmost care, often punctuated
with loud debate, but all the while they maintained a
deep and abiding respect for their comrades.

The opening and closing of a door was heard by them
distantly, the door knob latching gently. Instantly,
their hands went to the rifles at their sides, prepared
for any potential danger. But as the door opened,

the hawk-like focus of their eyes stopped, and they
widened with confusion.

Funky Kong, the laid-back and easygoing ape of Kong
Island was standing before them, boombox in one
hand and a carcano rifle in the other. His entrance

By: Julie "mew" Beeblebrox

was met with a stunned speechlessness from the
resistance fighters, who looked on in confusion as he
strode confidently into their midst.

Funky grinned broadly as he walked before them.
He wore a pair of sunglasses and a red bandana on
his head. A true son of the resistance, he radiated an
impenetrable aura of cool self-assurance that was at
odds with the serious business at hand.

"Hey, dudes and dudettes!" he exclaimed, his voice
full of enthusiasm. "Whatcha up to? Planning some
serious monkey business,
huh?"

The Arditi del Popolo
stared at him in
bemusement, minds
racking what to say to the
kong before them. They
had never seen anyone
quite like Funky before,
with his modern clothing
and carefree attitude.

But then, the broad
shouldered man held up
a hand, saluting Funky,
and slowly but surely, the
others began to relax.

Funky brought a sort of chill vibe to the resistance
that fascists didn't quite like.

Funky took a step forward and extended a hand in
greeting. "Name's Funky Kong," he said. "and I'm here
to lend a hand, if you'll have me. What do you say?"

And just like that, the Arditi del Popolo became one
greater. They may have been confused by Funky's
sudden ape-earance, but they had to admit the sense
of goodwill and positivity that he brought with him.
Perhaps, they said, there was room for a little bit of
funk in their fight for freedom.

Z1

Looking to reconnect with nature? Well this playlist
is the perfect soundtrack for your day in the sun.
Curated by the folks at the Student Insurgent for
your listening pleasure.

Where Do the Children Play? -—Cat Stevens
Selva negra — Mana

Maggot Brain — Funkadelic

Cunag — Curawaka

La rueda que mueve al mundo — Los Espiritus
Por el suelo — Manu Chao

Apocaliptico — Residente

Madre Tierra — Macaco

Semillas — Muerdo

Madre selva — Grupo Putumayo

El Condor Pasa — Simon & Garfunkel
Raindrops — Elephant Revival

This Land Is Your Land — Woody Guthrie
[Indigenous Decolonial Song RIGHT HERE]
No soy de aqui, ni soy de alla — Jorge Cafrune
Esta tierra no esta sola — Ediel Vasquez
Tierra Querida — Natalia Lafourcade
Sunshine on My Shoulders — John Denver
Cuatro vientos -—Danit

It's oh so quiet — Bjork

Teardrop — massive attack

ILY — Neol0y

Someone Shot the Koch brothers — Foraging and
the Rattling Bones

Solid Liquid Gas — Eartheater

Shovel Moonlight — Viktor Taiwo

Jan Lundgren Trio — Garden of delight
Strange Fruit — Billie Holiday

Lilac Wine — Nina Simone

& cv fte-fe fen

Art By: haze
Four Ethers — serpentwithfeet
Atmosphere - Joy Division
Nature Boy — Nat King Cole
Symphony for a Spider Plant — Plantasia
Peace on Earth (Live) — John Coltrane
Pink + White — Frank Ocean
Empire Ants — Gorillaz
Elements — Lindsey Stirling
The Internet Is Like Eating Plastic — Raveena
My Dog's Eyes — Zammuto
Sun & Moon — Dimond Saints
Dark Gaia — Nostalgia
Matriarx -- REBELWISE, Mama C
Earthbound—Mic Crenshaw
Free Em All—Mic Crenshaw, David Rovics (ft.
Opium Sabbah)
Defect — Snooper
Rainforest — Noname
Planet B—King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Agua Parada — Helena Meirelles
Phoenix Rising — Maria Upton
We Have Heaven — Yes
Cleaving Giants of Ice — Revocation
Flying Whales — Gojira
Wangchuan River — Black Kirin
The Four Seasons — Antonio Vivaldi
Forest Fairy Waltz — Denys Rybkin
The Sunlit Garden — played by Daniela Pinto
The Flower Garden — Joe Hisaishi
Skies of L.A. — Celine Dion
Feels Like Summer — Childish Gambino
Mercy, Mercy Me — Marvin Gaye
(Nothing But) Flowers Talking Heads

..and more!!!

fay

My brother has started at

a high school in California
which has some of the strictest
gun laws in the country but

we cannot regulate our borders,
so sometimes a gun comes from
a neighboring state and kills people,
or the gun is attached to the belt

next to a taser and a baton,

and before our eyes is fired.

A girl is killed, or nineteen children
are killed, or a family is torn apart.

What a cruel world we live in-and we

argue and give our children a bulletproof
backpack but we cannot give them a promise,
or a future, or hope, but we can offer

thoughts and prayers every year until we
are praying that they did not feel pain and
stalling court sessions because we're

fine with kids dying if they do it themselves.

But my brother is now ending his first year
and I am going into my third and he is still
alive, but that’s more than I can say about

a lot of children. Maybe I should feel grateful

that I haven't died yet but every bullet locks
into its chamber with finality like the classroom
door locks into place and then there is nothing
I can do. Here we are, and I am left offering

the same thoughts and prayers I wish I could
denounce. I write letters and speak out and
here I am, wondering if I should delete this
poem entirely because this poem does not

pass laws or stop children from being killed

but maybe if I write enough I can convince

myself I am doing something, anything at all,

and I can pretend that this bandaid can be plastered

over a bullet hole. Iam praying I do not have to see
another child without a face. I am hoping that

this will end and things will change. I don’t know what
to do, so here, have this poem. It’s all I can offer.

‘THIS
Is
‘THE
ONLY
‘THING
I
HAVE
LEFT
To
OFFER

By: Icarus

SOME HEALING LESSONS AND REFLECTIONS l'VE

LEARNED FROM Dr. ANA-MAURINE LARA

and other cosmic elements occupy a human form.
Our relationship to this world and consciousness is
tied intimately with the thousands of other energies
working around, throughout, within time and
us. There is woven density, multiplicity, multiple
dimensions to being that make up how we exist;
internal realms to dive into and pull from. The
energies around us are always working to converge -
create, imagining new futures and reenacting sacred
spirals. Being in community necessitates us to foster
vulnerability, love, and joy. Alters are a place we can
come to in ritual, in community, in communication
with spirit—to be healed. The altar-punto is our
connection across worlds, life-times, and ancestors.
The situation of living under neocolonial social and
economic rules has bound our ever changing selves
within oppressive confines, such as gender, which
were never meant to hold, uplift, or define us but
continue to be imposed as a means to bury our love,
potential, and freedom. There is the chance for us to
heal each other.

Our body-lands are sources of and windows

through which power moves. Power is not individual.

Individuals operate and move within a variety

of collective structures which define, limit, and
enable power, identity, and agency. Our agency is
manifested with and through each other. We can
gain agency, identity, and power through community
building, knowledge gathering, and radical honesty/
trust/love.

Place-making encompasses our ability to be
honest with and honor our selves. The self, how we
see and know and think and take care of or mistreat
our being, intimately knows how we relate to and
interact with all other earth beings, those who hold
us and those who oppress us. To hold and embody
our truest selves is to make space to see and honor
others’ truths. Navigating both body-lands and place-
making is a habitual and intentional orienting. That
is to say we must commit to the practice of seeing,
listening, understanding, and communicating with
ourselves, other earth beings, and the invisible

solar system and universe together.

The emphasis of decolonial feminist
values necessarily centers the importance of our
relationships with our kin. We are of the earth, the
land, our plant and animal relatives. To liberate
ourselves we must rely on our connections — our
ability for interdependence. Our love for ourselves/
this world can be nurtured in all we are and do. We
must turn to our knowledge keepers, our healers,
our visionaries, our artists and learn from each other
constantly to grieve, imagine, and create free futures.

The Altar-punto is the spiritual and physical
manifestation of a space that translates our being and
our relationships with the world/ourselves/others/
ancestors/decoloniality. As we navigate this world
we become/deconstruct/create. As we navigate this
world we inventory methods of survival. For Brown/
Black : Queer people we are constantly intaking
information, sharpening our senses, noticing how
the colonial world perceives us and evolving our
response. As we begin to honor our body-lands as
Altars-puntos our power, divinity, agency, and truths
become more visible to ourselves and others; our
ability to transverse across and between multiple
truths, identities, boundaries, realms, etc. is widened.

24

ABSTRACTING WHAT’S NATURAL

By: Brigham B.H.

eececerec eee eee eee eee eee eee eee ee eee eee ee ee eeeeeeeee ee eee ee eee eee eeeeeeeeee eee eee eeeseeeseeeeee

Everything in the world has been defined, or in terms of my current metaphor, "boxed up." I
aim to convince the reader that these boxes should be fully opened to reveal the more accurate defining
characteristic of the world, which is its abstractness and lack of definition. I am not discussing scientific or
physical phenomena, such as north and south or positive and negative, but that of the human condition.
We've placed fulfillment into a narrow economic understanding and created models of a meaningful life
by means of film and television that are unattainable for most people. We are the ones who in fact created
this limiting perspective and the conception that we are supposed to fit inside of it. How can we possibly
allow for such abstract terms such as freedom, love, and politics to be naturalized by mass media? I assume
a corresponding image came to mind when reading each of those words, and too many people take these
subconscious relationships for granted.

Modern discourse possesses a uniformity in people’s conceptualization of the current reality that
limits thinking to the actual and limits an attainment of the possible. We've created boxes in the pursuit
of total rationality and our desire to define everything. We've restricted our own freedom by developing
a common understanding of the term. A word that is in opposition to restrictions has become trapped in
its current form. We've become slaves to definition. We are victims of the limitations we have imposed on
ourselves.

Society has generated expectations around our behavior and deemed them as norms that we are
pushed to model ourselves after. These norms have led to a cynical self-understanding. If we are the round
peg unable to fit in the square hole, the thought that we are somehow less than is incredibly destructive.
Constraining the infinite spectrum of humanity into a minute range of possibilities according to idealized
physical identity, but more importantly, accepted ideologies regarding what matters in life, is a primary
contributing factor as to why so many today to undergo serious depression or anxiety, and in the harshest
cases, harm themselves. This negative self-perception of oneself can be paralleled by a similar perspective on
what constitutes success today.

The terms worth and value are inherently attached to it is a dollar amount that defines the amount
of economic freedom we possess. This monetary freedom pretty much constitutes freedom of action in
capitalist society, and if one is not able to conjure enough wealth to get by, let alone do the things they
actually want to do, a negative sense of identity can be found as the common result. Nothing in today's world
is simply allowed to exist without an attached limitation linguistically. I do not want to promote the idea that
some of these definitions cannot be positive as well, such as the identification of basic human rights to that
of autonomy, speech, and life, but these things are not universal due to the relativity of values in many non-
American societies.

My main gripe with the current use of language is that of the "either / or" distinction. This artificial
idea leaves no room for ambiguity and no freedom to truly act outside of pure affirmation or negation. The
most blatant example of this can be found in the two-party system, which is void of any true ideological
representation through party-identification objectifying the candidate into a predetermined set of views of
that respective party, and in today's climate, no room for true political discussion outside of the accepted
attitudes. This "two-party system" is a ruse, and simply indoctrinates the voting population into believing
they have democratic power, when in reality they are participating in the continued oppression of foreign
countries, the lower classes, and any real possibility of bettering the lives of the masses in the current
construction of production. Almost every choice we make in life goes beyond the distinction of black and

29

white, but we are manipulated to think we have to choose between two distinct paths in so many instances
of our lives. After highschool we are pushed to go to college or join the workforce. Once we get a job, the
path of hard work is necessary or one will find themselves living a poor life. Relationships are immediately
connected to marriage and monogamy, where we should prove that we will love someone forever or, on the
other hand, live a miserable lonely life. Any rational person should possess an innate lack of uncertainty, the
basis for anxiety and many people's hesitancy to truly be themselves in a world so caught up in the concrete.

The most contradictory definitions are those which constitute morality. How does one define a word
relating to the "right" way to behave? The obvious answer is you cannot, but in the modern day, we do so
through cultural relativism under the notion of unwavering growth and progress. Morality is dependent on
the existence of others, but there has and never will be an objective moral compass. Just because we have
progressed to the perceived peak of human history, it does not mean that we have reached the summit of
the mountain. This summit is hidden from our view because it lies in a time not yet lived. By accepting our
current way of life as ideal, we inherently limit ourselves and every other individual from achieving more.
We've also isolated our sense of freedom as individualistic, as if our freedom isn't reliant on the freedom of
others. If we were left to pure solitude, our freedom would be worthless as there would be nothing to enact
our freedom on, for it would be relative to the inhuman, and would ultimately be defined by the action or
lack of action taken by one individual. To truly say that humanity has reached its highest sense of value,
there is a requirement that every individual is capable of enacting their freedom equally.

Many things do define our condition, and are contingent on the fact we are alive. The human
condition is limited to the day we are born to the day we cease to be. The things we create or memories
we're a part of can be infinite, but these moments too will eventually never be spoken about again, as the
connections to that memory itself will not exist for eternity. The only thing we can do is seek to cultivate
our own existence through the things we devote our time to in light of an uncertain future. Any attempt to
transcend the finite nature of our lives is futile, but the attempt to make the world a place filled with artificial
truth is equally dishonest. The point I want to make regards the human desire to live in a world on his own
terms, and many of the societal stigmas, norms, and expectations that we blindly accept and serve to limit
this desire to be free. Living with complete freedom does not give one the right to encroach on the freedom
of others, but to coexist in a world defined by coexistence. Restraining ourselves by succumbing to the
"either/or" dichotomy and even to previous human history (to an extent) rejects the notion of our free-will.
If you truly believe in a cause that will benefit yourself and others, or want to live your life in a certain way
that goes against the grain, strive to achieve those things. We all end up in the same place, and the question
is, are you going to let others manipulate you into becoming a standardized subject? Or will you break out of
the box and truly live according to your aspirations? The choice is yours.

26

How To Biow UP 4 PIPELINE (2022)
FILM REVIEW

By: David Patrick Schrank, Jr.

In 2021, Andreas Malm, a Swedish associate professor of human ecology at Lund University and
activist, released a controversial and incendiary book called How to Blow Up a Pipeline. The non-fiction
book from the leftist publishing house Verso Books argues that climate activists should engage in property
destruction of critical fossil fuel infrastructure due to the ineffectiveness of the largely non-violent movement
to stop climate change. What could have easily been just another theory book that was little known outside
the Left instead unexpecedely crossed over into more mainstream attention, even garnering reviews from
the likes of neoliberal techocrat New York Times opinion columnist Ezra Klein. Now, just two years later, a
fictional film adaptation of the book has already been produced, made its rounds on the festival circuit, and is
now in a wide theatrical release.

The film, directed by Daniel Goldhaber and co-written by him along with Ariela Barer (who also
stars) and Jordan Sjol, follows a small group of disaffected activists from different parts of the country who
come together in rural West Texas with the goal of strategically blowing up a pipeline in an attempt to force
more substantive and meaningful action to combat the climate crisis. The ensemble cast also includes Lukas
Gage (The White Lotus), Marcus Schribner (Black-ish), Kristine Froseth, Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane,
Jake Weary, and Irene Bedard. The plot is cleverly structured as a heist thriller that consistently keeps up the
tension and quickly reels you in. By employing this tried and true genre to capture the audience’s intrigue,
the story is elevated above being simply ideological and engages us on an emotional level that is quite
compelling. I was fully invested in these characters and their mission not just because I found them to be
righteous intellectually, but because I was very much able to see myself in these characters and their struggles.
This is where the power of How to Blow Up a Pipeline lies.

Goldhaber, when asked by Malcolm Harris of the publication Jewish Currents what his film’s goal is,
stated, “It asks the question: What kinds of tactics are defensible in fighting climate change? One source of
climate doomism is the sense that this is such a big problem that it feels impossible to even start tackling it.
That's paralyzing. We're telling a story about eight people who believe the answer is the destruction of fossil
fuel infrastructure; they see this as an act of self-defense. The film asks the audience to empathize with them
and, by extension, to consider that argument.” What Daniel Goldhaber and his collaborators seeks to achieve
with How to Blow Up a Pipeline is nothing short of radical within the context of mainstream American
filmmaking. Fictional films in American cinema with a wide release that directly and passionately sympathize
with unabashedly radical activism are almost unheard of The closest example of something similar emerging
in recent times is Judas and the Black Messiah (2021), which was given a fairly low-key streaming release by
Warner Bros. during the COVID-19 pandemic and ended up winning two out of six total Oscar nominations.
However, that film was placed firmly within a historical context and the focus was more on the informant
protagonist’s perspective than that of Fred Hampton and the other Black Panthers. How to Blow Up a
Pipeline puts us in the midst of this activist milieu in the current era from start to finish with little focus given
to their opposition. For this fact alone, the film should be commended.

However, How to Blow Up a Pipeline does have its weaknesses too. When I went to see this film, I
went with a group of friends and comrades from UO Young Democratic Socialists. Afterwards, when we
discussed our thoughts on the film, one of the main flaws that stuck out to us was the characters’ lack of
adherence to the norms of security culture. At multiple points, the characters were far too loose-lipped and

ZA.

sloppily insecure in their
organizing of the action.
One point that particularly
stuck out was when in a
public meeting in a library
Xochitl (Ariela Barer)
expressed her frustrations
with the limits of her
group’s organizing to get
their college to divest from
fossil fuels and openly
called for destruction of
fossil fuel infrastructure.
Another is when Michael
(Goodluck) posts videos of
himself giving instructions
on how to construct bombs
on TikTok prior to his
involvement in the action.
An additional critique that
I heard from an Insurgent
comrade that stuck with me was (SPOILER AHEAD) that the only people who were caught and incarcerated
were people of color and all the white characters weren’t, which while making sense within the context of the
plot still seemed to be an odd choice for this type of story.

How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a film that certainly wears its influences on its sleeves. Goldhaber
and Barer listed Ocean’s Eleven, Reservoir Dogs, The Battle of Algiers, and the Eugene-set documentary If a
Tree Falls as inspirations. The filmmakers deftly wove together elements of these and other films to create
something unique, fresh, distinctive, original, and thought provoking. Is it a perfect film? No. However,
this film will not only help push forward the necessary dialouge to be had about how best to respond to the
dire state of the climate crisis in the face of institutional indifference and pandering, woefully insufficient
“compromises.” The existence of a film adaptation of How to Blow Up a Pipeline will of course not change
much on its own. But, it marks a major shift in American media and will surely inspire activists today
and for generations to come. By forcing average, less political audiences to consider what the activists on
screen say and do and also allowing people who see themselves in these characters to feel validated in this
portrayal, How to Blow Up a Pipeline is powerful! If the FBI finds a film’s mere existence to be dangerous and
noteworthy and National Review describes it as “a bizarre, cold-blooded illustration of why we no longer
trust our media’, then surely they must be doing something right! I give How to Blow Up a Pipeline a rating of
four out of five stars and recommend checking it out! The film is currently screening at the Broadway Metro
theater in downtown Eugene.

28

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Free fad, Served Fridays - 4:00-5:00 PM

29

Photos From: was Patrick Schrank, Jr. (@apssart on Instagram)

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